Writing on behalf of i-Ready apprentices in various public sector agencies, we would like to urge JobCentreBrunei or Manpower and Planning Council to hold an engagement session for all i-Ready apprentices in the public sector with their parents and families to address their concerns. For a lot of us i-Ready apprentices in the public sector, we were told during the contract signing with our parents in presence that we will be absorbed or employed with the agency even within a year, depending on how well we perform in our position. We only signed the contracts because the employers ensured us that we will be employed by the end of the program, if not sooner. Because of this, we put a lot of our time, energy and effort to do the best that we can so that we can be employed by the agency. A lot of us have already served our respective agencies for more than a year and it is only now that the employers tell us about the true process of public sector recruitment. Firstly, there must be a vacancy within the agency – unfortunately for some of us, we were matched in agencies that did not have vacancies or very limited vacancies to begin with. Secondly, this vacancy must be opened up and be advertised to the public as per Government Order | SPA so all applicants even i-ready apprentices who have already been specifically groomed and trained for the position within the agency with more than a year’s experience must go through this. SPA held firmly onto this because they argued that this process is only fair for the public. This is dangerous for the i-ready apprentices in many ways. Firstly, some of the i-ready apprentices who are currently enrolled do not have the required academic backgrounds to do the position in the first place, hence SPA could easily screen these i-Ready apprentices out because they do not fulfill the criteria despite having more than a year of experience. Secondly, psychometric tests can be very difficult to pass. There are a lot of i-ready apprentices who have gone through psychometric tests for other permanent vacancies but have failed repeatedly hence there is the danger that they will not be able to pass through this stage, despite the vacancy being from their own agency. It is very important for all parents of  i-ready apprentices in the public sector to be very clear of this recruitment process- that their children will not be automatically be employed or absorbed by the end of the 3 year program. It has to be clear across all stakeholders whether this i-ready program in the public sector is only meant for gaining working experience and NOT employment, as this was not clearly communicated when apprentices signed their contracts. Once the engagement session with parents is held, Manpower Planning Council should allow any i-ready apprentices to leave their position and not blacklist these people, should they want to concentrate their efforts elsewhere. 1-2 years of working experience within the government be enough if the point of the program is only for exposure, especially when it comes to those i-ready apprentices who are doing something that is different from their academic qualification. For those i-ready trainees who wish to stay on until their ‘apprenticeship’ ends in 3 years, knowing that they will not be employed by the agency, it should be the agencies’ responsibilities to ensure that these apprentices get the most out of the program, e.g. given specialized training that would help them be better in their  current position. Some personnel would think that it would be wasteful to spend money on i-ready apprentices just because they are not considered a permanent officer of the agencies. This mentality should be changed. These are graduates who are willing to serve 3 years of their youth to do the best that they can for the position with the knowledge and skill set that they have. If the i-ready program is supposed to churn out industry ready workforce, providing specific training that would be specifically useful for the particular position must be included. Hopefully JobCentreBrunei or Manpower Planning Council will action on this issue.